Thanks, All...
Hi Erik: I was wondering/struggling with the same thing. Cut them out before or later...I think I worried that it could have been tougher to get a nice solid structure if I was just gluing the thin petal tip parts together. I may try another one and do it that way just so see. Maybe it would be a better plan? I think someone like you or Ricardo could just get the cowling to look great "as is" with simply butt joining the paper...alas, I think I still need the brute force method of putty, reinforcing and sanding to make mine look good!
Lovely work on your Junkers, by the way. I look forward to seeing updates on that one...
Cheers,
Dan